Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-03-16
FROM THE A WEST.
Notes by a peasants County BOY.

70 hs Editor Of The Register.
LEwISrowN, IDAHO, March T.-From
West Virginia 10 Washington Territory is
q long and tiresOme journey. The traveller
who has no rights that he can compel rail
road employees 10 respect had better leave
the spirit that would lead to the resent
ment Of "A wrong ut home, or pack it in his
trunk with his Bible and good clothes
when he starts on "A journey across the con-
tinent and meekly submit to every indig-
uity at. the outset, for unless he Ia more
fortunate than your correspondent he will
he rs uOn-cOmbative rs q half starved veal
long before he reaches his destination.
But his bruises will soon heal. Life giving
oxygen is unlimited on these broad prai-
ries. 4 t~reeleSS expense will seem to have
swallowed him. To u man reared IN a
umbered country it is like looking into IN
abyss To gaze for the first time across linn
itlesSs space without mountains or 4 hlue
line Of timber to relieve the eye. So il Is
on the prairieS OF Eastern Washington Ter
rItOry.
The wheat farmer has possessed himself
of these broad acres. Fields are blocked
together in cheCkcred squares from the
| truck patch to thousands of acres. Wheat
is grown in such quantities that AL the
s~torehous.s are piled to the root and
thousands OF tons lie exposed to the
| weather every fall awaiting transportation.
| This rich wheat producing country plateau
5000 feet above the sea ami over 3DD0 feet
/ above Snake river which cuts through in
in a narrow canon with steep walls of
| stone. To haul the produce 10 the river
- a burden ON the farmer without "A proper
tomato reward. The approaches are tor
I tuOus and often long distances from the
grain fields. TO lessen expenses pipe lines
have been established in favorable ~centrrs,
| aud grIyitation utilized - a motive To
convey wheat from the fields to the store
huJlScS and shipping points OF the ryrr.
! The pipes require Il pitch of nearly forty
i've degrees To insure certain and cuntinu-
ouS movement. Ia the shoots are arEIigncd
apparatus Tor cleaning the grain. The
friction in the rushing descent pOwdersall
foreign substances and throws off in dust,
/ all hut the pure sound berry, even the bran
IS made thin and the value increased
hy the securing over that not - treated.
In Other localities the grain is haule,l to
the railroad depOtS. Long rickS ut plump
burlup bags OhstruCt the view in the yicin-
ity OF some of the wheat districts.
After u tour of the high lands we arrive
at RiperiL a point on Snake river, where
the rapids obStruct navigation, and where
all freight il transferred from boats To ears,
and rice rersd. The wheat freight trains
wind up q small creek, aud after a pull
-. - A., .k,,,a.N 40 a.,l ,nn1f
difficult passages known To railroad en-
ginecrS, gain the Walla Walla wheat dis
trict. The traffic OF q country greater in
area and native wealth than the State of
West Virginia is m~OnopoliZed by one
transportation company. The river route
is Onty SiNty-tive miles long. The boats
used are small and constructed especially
for that swift and shallow water course.
Lone 3dO-tOn engine only, is employed in
this carrying trade daring the season OF
low watcr-Six months out of the twelve.
The river passes through a narrow cut
with banks LOCO feet high, with many
rapids and shadows, over some of which the
boat is 'lured," tn use a hoatman'S phrase.
There are many ware houses and Chearly
constructed sheds stuck along the bars in
lAlN iltAA " NAt NNHNAAhH NAAn w ~
wheat is hauled by some winding grade or
run through pipes from the fields above.
The wheat is all shipped in huTllp hays
holding l25 pounds. Each lot is branded
and piled in such u way that it can be
shipped in its turn without mixing. The
bags are conveyed on and of the boats by
means of trucks on which u deck-hand
handles half u ton at one Load The freight
charges from Snake river to Portland, OF,
are seven dollars per TIM, or 2lc per hush
eI; distance 900 miles. The market price
here is fifty cents a bushel. Passenger
rates are abOut five rents n mile. Meals
and beds are charged for extra at 80 cents
extra.
The land on which this surplus of wheat
is grown IL valued at about 81 an acre.
The average yield is about twenty BUSH
els with q possibility OF twice that figure,
The cost of growing and marketing is not
far from thirty cents n buShel. Washing
ton Territory has a capacity for wheat pro-
duction exceeding five times the present
surplus. North Idaho is identical in nat.
ural characteristics bot lumber in extent.
II. l.. II.